Journalist Explains Torture By Security Agents
The Independent (Banjul)
Alhagie Mbye, The Independent reporter who has earned the distinction as
among the most harassed journalists in The Gambia today has spoken of
torture and other forms of physical abuse meted on him by the National
Intelligence Agency.
In a chilling personal account of his ordea,l Mr. Mbye who looked emaciated
and drained following eight days of grinding NIA torture by electric shock,
said his interrogators had used subtle methods to intimidate and harass him
for a couple of stories he had written for The Independent newspaper and
West Africa magazine for which is stringer. He said to the last minute of
his detention he had stood beside everything he had written for the two
media houses. We reproduce below Mr. Mbye's narration.
It was on Wednesday evening at around 8.30 pm while I was busy preparing to
have my supper after breaking my fast in my compound at Bakoteh Layout when
three men whom I later identified as NIA personnel approached me and told me
that I should immediately report to the NIA headquarters in Banjul.
The NIA personnel who initially informed my neigbours that they were friends
of mine who were just paying me a social visit were lead by one Demba
Ceesay, a lab technician now attached to the investigation department of the
NIA. Mr. Ceesay, who identified himself as Abdoulie, knocked on my compound
gate and was ushered inside together with his two companions.
Their visit coincided with the arrival of Musa Jobarteh, a colleague of mine
at The Independent who arrived and found the three men surrounding me. I
took advantage of the distraction caused by Musa's arrival to enter a
neigbour's room where I made a quick call to Alagi Yorro Jallow, the
managing editor of The Independent newspaper informing him about my arrest.
I also rang my uncle whose mobile phone was engaged at the time.
At this juncture, Ceesay informed me that I should not raise any alarm and
should obey their orders, as I was not going to spend time at the NIA
because, as he claimed, it was just a matter of clarification.
I then followed them to a white 504 Peugeots with registration number BLJ
5012A, and I was told to sit at the back while Demba Ceesay quickly drove
away. To my surprise, he was driving toward the Senegambia Beach Hotel
highway instead of the Banjul route. From there he proceeded towards Kerr
Serign before swerving down a remote area where the three men spoke in low,
sinister wishpers among themselves.
After the quiet murmur among themselves, they changed the direction of the
car and headed towards Bakau to Banjul and finally arrived at the NIA
headquarters where a guard on duty opened the gate for us.
Ceesay then spoke to the security guard who in turn told me to handover all
my belongings I was carrying including my mobile phone, house keys, wallet
containing D500 and a few coins.
The three men then told me to sit and wait in the reception while Ceesay
left for an unknown destination, promising that he will see me later.
I spent the night in the NIA reception office and the following morning I
was locked up in a very dark, tiny and windowless cell. I was to spend the
day and night in this room with no food or water till the next day, a
Friday. Indeed I had a sleepless night on the bare floor with mosquitoes
constantly biting me while flying insects continuously flew into my nose,
mouth and ears.
In the morning I was allowed out of the cell to wash my face and by 10 to
11am, some security guards escorted me to the investigation office where I
found Mr. Ceesay and OC Tamba. From there I was escorted to another office
where I met four officers who asked me several questions pertaining to an
article I filed for West Africa magazine entitled 'President Jammeh
reelected' dated October 29 to November 5.
Demba Ceesay and Tijan Bah, other NIA personnel also questioned the source
of an article I wrote for The Independent captioned; 'Two men charged with
insulting President Jammeh', and also the editorial of the same Independent
newspaper issue entitled 'Gambia's lost virginity,' regarding the murder of
Aziz Faal, a Mauritanian national.
I was interrogated from one desk to another but I maintained that the
articles were all in proper perspective, including the editorial. The NIA
personnel also showed me certain sentences they had highlighted with a pen
in the West Africa magazine story for which they demanded an explanation. In
reply, I told them that being the correspondent for West Africa magazine in
The Gambia I was responsible for the said article and further reminded them
that all the statements contained in the story were based on press releases
and comments by observers and political commentators from the various
political parties.
During this marathon questioning, the NIA even advised me to return to the
Daily Observer where I used to work if I wanted to have peace of mind and to
be in the good books of the authorities. Of course I rejected their proposal
outright.
The NIA officials also informed me that certain western countries such as
the United States, Britain and France are using journalists in the private
media against the government. I responded that no responsible citizen will
allow himself to be used by outsiders and reminded them of all the finance,
economic and health stories I used to file for the benefit of the country.
The NIA also claimed that The Independent was always prepared to carry
critical stories against the government but I reminded them that we always
allow divergent views for the interest of everyone.
From there, I was again thrown inside the same cell, without food or water,
until late in the evening when I was given a plate of cooked rice apparently
from a nearby restaurant, which I shared with other detainees locked up in a
separate cell. Those detainees included Nigerians, Ghanaians and Guineans.
During the night I was given bread leftovers smeared with butter.
However, I was in terrible pains as my feet had started to swell and I had
no shoes on. I was forced to stand bare-footed on the cold floor inside the
cell. Although I complained, nobody listened to me or came to my aid.
The cell was stinking of urine and human waste such that even the guards to
escape the odour refused to even stand at the entrance. I again spent a
painfully sleepless night until Monday morning when I was again escorted by
guards to the investigation office where I found Demba Ceesay and Wassa
Gassama and Babou Njie. I was taken into a photography laboratory darkroom
where Gassama and Njie stripped me naked before forcing me to sit on the
floor. Njie took a rope and tied my hands at the back. I was forced to
stretch my legs on the floor and Njie produced a bunch of wires attached to
a transformer with three buttons on top and a winder. Njie then connected
wires over my left ear, through my head and on my private parts while
Gassama who introduced himself as Mr. Killer, said that they had received
instructions to eliminate me.
The two men then proceeded to operate the machine and my body started to
tremble violently. A terrible heat engulfed me while my head was repeatedly
knocking on the wall. Although I was screaming in terrible pain, the two men
were busy laughing with glee and abusing me. This torture seemed to have
continued forever. Next they brought huge steel clippers, which they
attached to my knees and preceded to press it.
According to Gassama, they had been instructed to disable me so that I will
learn a good lesson since they claim it was not my first time at the NIA. No
amount of words could explain and drive home the exact agony and grisly
sight of two men unleashing terror on my helpless frame. It was an
unspeakable experience.
After this ordeal, I was again thrown inside the dark cell where I was
feeling weak and sick from the blood-sucking torture. I was to remain in the
cell until later in the afternoon when I was taken out to eat with the other
detainees. But I told the NIA personnel that I was not interested in any
food, as I was not feeling well. I told Ceesay that I needed medical
attention. But OC Tamba immediately intervened saying that my request was
not possible unless on condition that I should not speak to anyone. I found
this impossible and was escorted back into the cell. By now, I was urinating
blood and my feet were wobbly weak.
During the night, one of the guards suggested that with my condition, it was
unsafe to lock me in an isolated cell. He then carried me to another cell
where other detainees were kept. It was more comfortable there with a shaft
of light from an electric bulb.
However during the following morning when Tamba found me inside the cell, he
was angry with Ceesay and ordered that I should be returned to my previous
cell and that I should not even be allowed to talk to anybody. I reminded
the NIA officials that I had been suffering from malaria prior to my arrest
and that I was undergoing treatment, so they should allow me to rest. But
again they refused to listen or help.
I was again thrown inside the cell until the following day, a Tuesday.
Without any food, I was escorted by the same men and the same grisly torture
continued. On Wednesday, around 11am, I was again escorted out of the cell,
and found Tijan Bah, Demba Ceesay, Njie and Gassama from Tamba's office
talking. Immediately I arrived, Gassama, who asked Njie to go out of the
office, again escorted me inside the dark room where more torture was
carried out on me. Ceesay personally supervised the torture. Again while I
was screaming, they were laughing and abusing me. They asked me to reveal my
source of information, threatening that if the public were not aware of my
arrest, I would be killed quietly. During the torture, I fell unconscious
and when I came to, they told me to put on my clothes and asked me out of
the room. I was so weak that I could not even locate the entrance and
Gassama had to show me the way out. Outside I saw, ex-minister Dominic
Mendy, who had earlier offered me D5 to buy bread but the security guard
later returned the money to me saying that there was no food for me.
Njie escorted me back to my cell where I remained until the evening when a
particular guard helped me out for a while to drink tea, before he escorted
me to the cell until the following morning Thursday.
Thursday morning, while the cell was opened for me to wash my face, I was
busy begging the guards to allow me to pray, when the security guard around
the gate approached me and said that Foday Barry, the director of Internal
Security, had given orders for my release. This was around 7am and I was
literally thrown outside the NIA premises where I was left lying on the
ground until a friend I know as Momodou who recognised me took me to the
Kololi Clinic. I was thoroughly checked by Doctor Ceesay, who said I should
be admitted immediately or be reporting daily to the clinic.
West Africa Magazine was informed of my release and editor Desmond Davis
called to monitor my condition. I later learnt that Fatoumatta Jahumpa
Ceesay, the director of press and public relations at State House, had
earlier sent an e-mail to West Africa magazine insulting me and informing
them to contact The Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) whenever
they need stories from The Gambia. Her e-mail was described as "unethical
and unprofessional" and provoked a scabbing response from West Africa
magazine.
However my response to Jahumpa Ceesay's claims against me to West Africa was
very precise. I told them that Mrs. Ceesay has no right to insult me because
she is just parading herself as a mere sycophant who has some deep hatred
against the private media. I made it known that for her intolerance of
independent journalism she is not qualified to be the Director of Press in
the country. I added that Mrs. Ceesay is a square peg in a round hole and
being an old woman she should learn to respect herself.
_________________________________________________________________
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